Three women were crushed to death and another critically injured in a stampede
at a Halloween party in Madrid during the early hours of Thursday.

The tragedy occurred around 4am as partygoers tried to leave the packed Madrid Arena through an exit after someone apparently threw a firework into the crowd.

One corridor became crammed with people, according to witnesses as people became crushed in a bottle neck with more crowds pushing from behind.

The victims were aged between 18 and 20 years old, authorities said.

The three dead were named as Katia Esteban Casielles, Rocio Ona Pineda, Cristina Arce de la Fuente, all reportedly 18 years old. The two in hospital fighting for their lives were named as Maria Teresa Alonso Vinateo and Belen Langdon Real.

Police have launched an investigation to determine whether correct security measures were in place and whether the venue - which has a maximum capacity of 12,000 - was overcrowded.

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Witnesses described the scene of terror during the special themed Halloween party called Thriller Music Park featuring well-known DJ Steve Aoki.

The party, where tickets sold for 22 euros, had promised a “theatrical atmosphere” and a costume contest based on Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video.

“There was a human blockage at the only exit because the others were sealed off,” a partygoer called Sandra told Spain’s Cadena Ser Radio. “There were people screaming, crushed, as security guards tried to pull out those who were trapped,” she said.

“I was trapped in a plug - we couldn’t move forward because people were lying on the floor and couldn’t move backwards because people kept pushing,” Ernesto Moreno Hernandez told Spanish newspaper El Pais. “We were stuck there for half an hour trying to get out.”

Cristina Cardenas, 18, described the scene: “People were stuck inside, some were vomiting, some fainted, it was chaos.”

”There were some stairs,” another witness told public television. “There was an avalanche of people and people fell over each other and amassed there and there was a crush.”

One witness described seeing a waiter trying to save the life of one of the girls.

“There was no-one to help that girl: the waiter got up on to the bar and tried to resuscitate her,” the witness said.

Others said the stampede towards the exit happened when someone set off a firework in the crowd.

“It seems to have been provoked by a flare that someone threw into the stadium,” a police spokesman confirmed.

Miguel Angel Villaneuva, Madrid’s deputy mayor said an investigation was underway but there was nothing to initially suggest organisers were to blame.

Emergency services said two of the victims had died at the scene and a third shortly after arriving at hospital. The two other girls were said to be in a “critical condition”.